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Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Louise Alley (born January 12, 1951) is an American actress and comedian known for her role in the TV series Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987 to 1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991. She is also known for her role in the thriller Shoot to Kill and the Look Who's Talking film series as Mollie Ubriacco. More recently, Alley has appeared in reality shows revolving around her life. Early life[edit source | editbeta] Kirstie Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Lillian Mickie (née Heaton), a homemaker, and Robert Deal Alley, who owned a lumber company.[1] Alley is of Irish descent.[2] She has two siblings, Colette and Craig. Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School, graduating in 1969.[3] She attended college at Kansas State University in 1969.[3] Kirstie came to Los Angeles to work as an interior designer and appeared as a contestant on the popular game show Match Game in 1979,[4] where she won multiple games. She also appeared on the game show Password Plus in 1980. In 1981, a car accident caused by a drunk driver killed her mother and left her father seriously injured. Her father eventually recovered.[3] Career[edit source | editbeta] Alley made her movie debut in 1982 in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, playing the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik. In 1989, Alley starred in Look Who's Talking alongside John Travolta; the film grossed over $295,000,000 worldwide. They then went on to make two other films centered around the same theme, Look Who's Talking Too and Look Who's Talking Now![5] Alley has won two Emmy Awards[6] during her career. Her first two nominations for her work on Cheers did not earn her the award, but her third, in 1991, garnered her the statuette for that series. In her speech, she thanked then-husband Parker Stevenson, calling him "the man who has given me the big one for the last eight years."[7] For contributions to the motion picture industry, Alley was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard.[8] Alley played the title character in the NBC sitcom Veronica's Closet, as well as serving as executive producers on the show. She served as the spokesperson for Pier One from 2000–04 and for Jenny Craig from 2005–08. TV Land will air a new sitcom that will center on Alley as a Broadway star and a new parent. It is called "Kirstie's New Show", The show will reunite her with former Cheers co-star Rhea Perlman and Seinfeld star Michael Richards. The 12-episode series will be shown in the fall of 2013.[9] Dancing with the Stars[edit source | editbeta] Main articles: Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 12) and Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 15) In February 2011, Alley was announced as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Their first dance, a cha-cha-cha, earned them the second-highest score, 23 points of a possible 30. On May 2011, Alley and Chmerkovskiy performed their final dance, also a cha-cha-cha, which earned them a perfect score of 30 out of 30. Alley finished the competition in second place, behind NFL Super Bowl champion Hines Ward. She also took part in the 15th season of Dancing with the Stars for a second chance to win the mirrorball trophy[10] again with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. They were the seventh couple eliminated from the competition. Personal life[edit source | editbeta] Alley met and dated a distant cousin, Bob Alley, in high school. They married in 1970; her husband thus had the same name as her father.[11] However, they divorced seven years later as their career paths diverged.[12] Alley was married to her second husband, Parker Stevenson (Richard Stevenson Parker, Jr.) on December 22, 1983. They divorced in 1997. Alley and Stevenson share custody of their two children, William True and Lillie Price.[13] Weight loss[edit source | editbeta] In March 2010, Alley launched Organic Liaison, which includes Rescue Me, the first USDA-certified organic weight loss product. She announced that she lost 100 pounds (45 kg) using the program in September 2011.[14] Scientology[edit source | editbeta] Alley was raised as a Methodist, but has been a member of the Church of Scientology since 1979.[15] At the time she became a Scientologist, Alley admitted to having had a cocaine addiction and went through Narconon, aScientology-affiliated drug treatment program,[16] to end her dependency.[17] She has continued her Scientology training and, as of 2007, had attained the level of OT VII (Operating Thetan level 7).[18] In May 2000, she purchased, for $1.5 million, the former home of fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley, a 5,200 sq ft (480 m2) waterfront mansion in Clearwater, Florida, the spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology. In 2007, Alley gave $5 million to the Church of Scientology.[19] Publications[edit source | editbeta] Alley has written two autobiographical books, How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life and The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine Al Dente). In the latter, she writes of having fallen for at least two of her leading men, Patrick Swayze, one of her castmates in the first two North and South miniseries productions, and fellow Scientologist John Travolta, her castmate in the Look Who's Talking films. She also denies, in The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine Al Dente), having actually been sexually active with either. Filmography[edit source | editbeta] Category:1951 births